Teachers' Union Grievance Denied

Issue Is Retirees' Unused Sick Pay

MANCHESTER — The board of education has denied a teachers' union grievance that disputed how school system administrators calculate payments to retirees for unused sick days.

Under the union contract, teachers with at least 15 years of experience and who were on staff before July 1998 would be paid for half their unused sick days when they retire. As of July 1, 1998, teachers may no longer accumulate sick days for retirement.

School officials said a retiree's payout for unused sick days has historically been determined by the salary schedule. The payout is based on the average salary for the last three years of work.

Representatives of the Manchester Education Association, which filed the grievance on behalf of teachers Ed Moore and Anne Farley, contend that the payments should also factor in items such as longevity pay, stipends for teachers who are also department heads and per diems.

Following a grievance hearing and a closed session, the school board late Monday voted unanimously to deny the grievance.

School board member Jonathan Mercier said the school system for at least 10 years has based the payments solely on the salary schedule with no objections from the teachers' union.

School board Chairwoman Sandra Lok said, ``This is a practice that has been accepted by the union and conducted by the administration without any questions.''

Thomas Alexander, MEA president, said the union's grievance committee would decide whether to take the issue to arbitration.

Alexander said of the board decision, ``That is their opinion; we think otherwise and the committee will have to decide whether to pursue it.''